Tag Archives: Ultimate Rewards

Do you ever wonder where the expression, “You don’t do business with a business, you do business with people,” originated? Ok, I’ve never thought about where it originated either, but after all my years in business, I can tell you it’s a total truism. When I find good business people to do business with, I love it! As a frequent traveler who likes to travel “well” and use miles and points for award tickets, I’m a long-standing client of Juicy Miles. But that’s just a business name, isn’t it? The man behind the business, and at the helm of this great group of people, is Adam.

A few weeks ago, it dawned on me that the image that many people must have of award booking businesses is that they aren’t “real” businesses. I think many people think it’s something people do in their spare time to help friends and family members figure out all the rules and regulations for using that stash of miles/points. But in the case of Juicy Miles, it’s the real deal. It’s very well run and they’re great at what they do. And they’ve just redesigned their Juicy Miles website which makes submitting your requests super easy! I want you to get to know Adam better, so I reached out to him with a few questions about what he does, why he does it, how he trains his team, and more. Hope you enjoy the interview!

Shelli: Juicy Miles started in what year?

Adam: Believe it or not, Juicy Miles went live all the way back in 2011 (I think we first communicated in 2014 or so).

During the good ole days of credit card sign up bonuses, I used to do epic 4-8 credit card App-O-Ramas every 3 months. I probably did that for the first 2 years I was in the miles and points game. Over those years, I accumulated a lot of credit cards, but now is the time when several annual fees are posting. I have 8 credit cards that posted annual fees in March (totalling $1,165 in annual fees), so now is the time for me to decide: keep, cancel, or convert? Here is the list of credit cards and annual fees. I am going to cover the first 2 Chase credit cards in today’s post, and then cover the other credit cards in a few more posts. Let’s start with my beloved Chase Sapphire Reserve.

Chase Sapphire Reserve – $450 (posted 4/1)

Chase Ink Plus Business – $95 (posted 4/1)

American Express Hilton Ascend – $95 (posted 4/3)

American Express SPG Business – $95 (posted 4/6)

Bank of America Alaska Airlines Business – $75 (posted 4/2)

Citi AT&T Access More – $95 (posted 4/4)

US Bank FlexPerks Gold – $85 (posted 4/3)

Wells Fargo Propel World – $175 (posted 3/31)

Chase Sapphire Reserve Credit Card

Is the Chase Sapphire Reserve worth the $450 annual fee? Several months ago, I converted my Chase Freedom into a Chase Sapphire Reserve, and it was one of the best credit card decisions I ever made. After I converted to the Chase Sapphire Reserve, I started to receive the $300 in travel reimbursements (before I even paid the first $450 annual fee). I also received my Priority Pass card which includes unlimited guests (you have to request this through the Chase Ultimate Rewards Portal). Between the $300 travel credit and the free meals I have had at Priority Pass lounges, the $450 annual fee is basically a wash. Then add on the 3x Chase Ultimate Reward Points on travel and dining purchases, plus the ability to redeem Chase Ultimate Reward Points for travel at 1.5 cents, keeping this credit card is the easiest credit card decision of the year. The only downside is that I had to give up my Chase Freedom and I would have loved to get 5x on PayPal purchase this quarter (that would have taken me only a few days to max out).

Good morning everyone, I apologize for my lack of blog posts recently, but I’ve found myself in somewhat of a miles and points funk. Usually, I’m in an upbeat, positive mood, but lately, I’ve found it hard to get excited about the miles and points game. It seems that everything that I once loved has changed for the worse (that might be a tad dramatic). Let me share what’s on my mind so you can see where I’m coming from. Let’s start with hotels first.

Hyatt recently got in on the bonus season! Some opportunities to buy points are targeted, and some are publicly available. I’m sure we’d all agree that the public ones are more interesting and worth a look. Through February 23, World of Hyatt is offering a 30% bonus on purchased points. You have to purchase at least 5,000 points in your transaction.

Let me cut straight to the chase: to date, the JW Marriott Phu Quoc Emerald Bay Resort & Spa is my favorite resort I’ve ever stayed in. Nearly everything about the resort is perfect, and the few things that aren’t, are really not a big deal (and also could be very easily fixed).